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Transformers Super Thread 9


eriku

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those transformers guys, so easy to please.

You can say that again. I don't know how many TF reviews I've read where the writer would show a picture of what was effectively a big lump of unpainted plastic vaguely resembling a stearin wheel, or wheels, or arms or whatever and the guy would be like "and here's some excellent detail"...

Truly Japanese anime fans - not just Yamato fans, but really down the line - are spoiled. The difference in quality is so vast... it's like only now after handling so many truly awesome figures and models do I realize that unfortunately TFs are by and large made with the quality of bootlegs...

But...there I go again...

Pete

Has to write some G1 stories....needs to write something positive about Transformers...

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Most mainline Transformers are relatively low cost mass-market children's toys. If you compare a mainline Transformer with a collector's model toy that is fragile and is not meant to be played with, then yes, the Transformer will come off looking second or even third best. However, VFTF1, you're grossly exaggerating there. They don't look THAT bad.

A leader class TF will always cost less than Yamato's Macross stuff, so if you want a fair comparison, compare it against a sentai power ranger type toy in a similar sort of market category.

It's awesome but the missle is ridiculously huge
It's the law, isn't it? Firing projectiles need to be at least a few inches long. Edited by Fit For Natalie
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The "arm converts to missile launcher" bit looks more like "missile launcher plugs into folded claw". The hidden weapons do look cool

Need more jet pics but thus far that one sure sucks. Robot is still awesome (even more with the tatoos).

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However, VFTF1, you're grossly exaggerating there.

I know.

I am actually very thankful that TF fans in this thread have tolerated my constantly belittling Transformers... I really do love them, but I've just been so upset about Transformers for a while now... I'm like a constantly PMSing TF fan...

Maybe if Takara-Tomy reissues Victory Saber then I'll stop.

I dunno... I just need to play with my G1 toys finally. Write a story and make a photo-comic with them - then I'll feel better. I've got the collection that little 4 year old Pete only dreamed of having...

Just been so busy lately that I've had no time to actually play with my toys :(

Pete

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Just been so busy lately that I've had no time to actually play with my toys :(

Pete

Yeah, with all of those long and rambling posts that you distribute around the board I'd be surprised if you even have time to sleep.

:p :P :p

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I guess my problem with Transformers nowadays is that... nobody really remembers the original G1 or cares much for it.

Well I guess my 8yr old son is the exception. I picked up season 1 & 2 of the original series and he's loving it. Also got season one of GI Joe. It's pretty much all he watches now, and he's really geeking out over the fact that he's got the reissue Insecticons too.

Oh, got bored and started messing with Legos again. If anyone has suggestions or comments, I'd be happy to hear them.

th_Lego-Blaster.jpg

Edited by Metal_Massacre_79
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Yeah, with all of those long and rambling posts that you distribute around the board I'd be surprised if you even have time to sleep.

:p :P :p

Ok, Ok...good point :) But I'm a fast typer. Writing long, rambling threads comes naturally to me :) It's much harder to play with toys :)

But still... point taken :)

Pete

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I guess my problem with Transformers nowadays is that... nobody really remembers the original G1 or cares much for it. All discussion is Bayformers focused, or the latest TV series and the most popular toys are the modern ones...
Well, there's a lot of TF fiction and toys from 25 years to discuss. For some of the older TF fandom members, particularly the ones from the usenet and newsgroup days, G1 talk has kind of been tapped dry (aside from new G1 fiction such as comics, of course). From my observation, people who tend to talk about G1 subjects tend to be people who have recently returned to Transformers (because of the movies), while old hands tend to talk about new stuff. Then there's new fans who are excited about whatever new series got them into Transformers and are curious about the original series, so I think there's more than enough talk and interest about G1, especially if you look at how older fans want new Universe Classics (or whatever the next iteration will be named).
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G1 talk has kind of been tapped dry

Technically, there is some truth to this. I was about to make a comparisson to SDFM TV, but then again - Macross - even the older series, are given "new life" by the ongoing newer series like Frontier. And actually, for better or for worse, people often reference elements from older series in discussions about new stuff.

Sadly, it's hard to do that with Transformers where there really is almost no continuity. Looking back, we'd have to pretty clearly say that the end of "G1" continuity was Beast Machines. For better or for worse, that was the last series that was an explicit extension of a previous show which itself was tied intricately with G1 - even if those ties weren't immediately intended from the outset.

Then again... I dunno. The G1 era spans pretty much the whole space-time continum - you'd think there'd be something to talk about in there... I dunno...

I think there's more than enough talk and interest about G1, especially if you look at how older fans want new Universe Classics

I...

am really really alone on this point - but I sold off all my Henkeis. The Universe/Classics I never wanted due to the poor paint aps. Henkeis had better paint aps, but on the whole - I got rid of them because they weren't doing it for me. They had too little of a G1 vibe to them. Some, like Hound and Cyclonus, were big improvements. But Prime, Megatron, Onslaught....these just felt like design updates to old characters in the same vein as Cybertron/Galaxy Force. Nothing special in them.

I have also come to the point where I don't care about poseability any more. I'm not bothered by G1 being retro-chunky and unposeable. It just underscores the transformation aspect. Besides, Transformers are meant to be had in bulky bunches... Oh... I dunno...

I'm just sad about Transformers. The magic is just gone for me. I thought that when I got my reissue Ratbat, things would change - but they haven't.

Maybe I need Overlord?

Pete

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VFTF1 also as a TFer fan I do have to point out that a lot of the comic book action is G1 inspired.

Don't even get me started on the comics :) I'm one of those terrible people who love Bob Budyansky's work... I also have all of the Marvel UK comics as Trade Paperbacks from Titan (well - almost all..missing just Dinobot Hunt and maybe one other...Generations or whatever the one where Buster dreams about Menasor and Superion was called).

I love the comics; I love them more than the cartoon. And I still remember how dissapointed I was with Dreamwave. IDW hasn't been much better. I have the TPB of the first instalment of their work and it's sub-par. Not Furman's fault, mind you, as he always provides a good story - I just can't stand the constant re-imaging...

I mean - are Transformers such a passing fad and is the Transformers fandom composed of people with such a horribly short attention span that every year you need to "re-boot" the comics and cartoons?

That's annoying. It doesn't happen with other series. Why does it happen with TFs?

Heck - do people remember when Marvel Comics managed to run in one thirty YEAR progression? I mean - like the Amazing Spider-man and the like? That thing ran hundreds of issues. Through the sixties, seventies, eighties... Sure, there were big changes along the way, spin-off series... but the basic story - the foundations - were all kept in tact.

Nowadays, it seems that 12 months is the upper limit of people's attention spans - then you need to "re-boot" everything to make it "fresh."

Honestly it's a waste of time and money because all I ever see is a re-telling of the same basic story with some twists here and there, with different designs.

What I'd LIKE to see is characters that grow and develop over time - like they did in the original Marvel comics run. And if you're going to "re-boot" - then do it right - aka like G2. G2 was a great re-boot because it built directly on the end of G1. Heck - even Bludgeon was still in charge of the Decepticons and had managed to construct the Warworld...

But no - nowadays Transformers is just about Optimus Prime battling Megatron on Earth for SOMETHING (energon, minicons, the Cube, the All Spark, kicks and giggles) - and the story arc always revolves around introducing us to the concept of Transformers, to Cybertron and to some core cast of characters that we (who have been with Transformers for 25 years now) KNOW already.

All of these comics are throw away comics, just like the TV shows are throw away TV shows.

Even if there are elements that are good and interesting - so what? They NEVER get followed up on. There is NO follow up. Characters come and go and then return to get re-booted.

Now granted - this problem somewhat existed in the original comics run - and Budyanski even complained about how Hasbro made it near impossible for him to maintain a plot line because every month they'd just be like - "hey - heres a zillion new toys we need you to put in the comics." But there was still one essential difference:

At least Hasbro was constantly introducing NEW character during G1. It wasnt just Animated Bumblebee, Henkei Bumblebee, Universe Bumblebee, Legends Bumblebee, Movie Bumblebee, Supreme Bumblebee, Small Tots Bumblebee... you get the point --- we would actually get TOTALLY NEW characters which would add a NEW layer to the Transformers that came before.

In all of G1 - how many variations of Bumblebee did we get? THREE. The original minibot, Pretender Bumblebee, and Actionmaster Bumblebee. And at least the three of them were totally different conceptually.

Nowadays we get NO new characters. Its always Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Ironhide.... nobody new really comes along. And if they do theyre few and far between and often times not very memorable OR - worse still - they are characters which use the NAME of an old G1 character but have a totally different personality and design (something I can't stand either).

The whole franchise is one huge mess right now with no consistency, poor quality toys and bad movies.

Pete

holds up shield to take the hit of the oncoming tomatos...

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I love the comics; I love them more than the cartoon. And I still remember how dissapointed I was with Dreamwave. IDW hasn't been much better. I have the TPB of the first instalment of their work and it's sub-par.
Well, I do prefer the IDW/Dreamwave style of drawing better than Marvel.

Also, it was Budiansky who came up with eh... 'interestingly' controversial characters such as Circuit Breaker.

Other topic : I had a look again at my ROTF Starscream, voyager version in jetmode : I think this Leader version's jet mode might be exactly the same in proportions ;

the difference being ; the voyager having a neat belly cover, while the Leader version does have recognizable robot parts, BUT which are not sticking out more, than the voyager's belly cover.

So, until a proper picture/video review appears, it's still up in the air about the jetmode being better or worse than the voyager F22.

Edited by knoted
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Also, it was Budiansky who came up with eh... 'interestingly' controversial characters such as Circuit Breaker.

And she enjoyed what ended up being a story arc that lasted 80 issues (not that she was featured in all 80 issues, but her character grew with the story).

Point?

Even if you disliked some of the characters, at least from a literary angle they went places because the series didn't abruptly end after 12 months only to be "re-booted" :)

Pete

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Ok, Ok...good point :) But I'm a fast typer. Writing long, rambling threads comes naturally to me :) It's much harder to play with toys :)

But still... point taken :)

Pete

actually I like to read his posts... analytical stuff, which is the type of stuff I like to read.

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But no - nowadays Transformers is just about Optimus Prime battling Megatron on Earth for SOMETHING (energon, minicons, the Cube, the All Spark, kicks and giggles) - and the story arc always revolves around introducing us to the concept of Transformers, to Cybertron and to some core cast of characters that we (who have been with Transformers for 25 years now) KNOW already.

Last week the wife and I went to a Transformer toy exposition (not that she wanted to :lol: ). Really amazing stuff since they had toy of EVERY line (some 1500 TF toys in all they said).

I quote VFTF1 because, apart from the usual wife rant "god, those things are ugly", she pointed out that a lot looked the same. I told her that basically they are all reinterpretations of the same characters. Her look changed to "now that is cheap" and commented on the little imagination they had.

Now that is just her opinion, not mine, but I just wanted to share what a person who knows squat of TF thinks of the constant reinterpretations. BTW, the ones she hated the most were the Alt-Binaltech ones; said robots with pieces of cars stuck together looked wrong :lol: .

Other than that, seeing all the G1 bricks was really nice (not just the ones I had as a kid). And I must say that these little bricks look really cute in person. I also enjoyed seeing the evolution of the various lines down to the current one.

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Anyone else plan on picking up the US reissue of MP Grimlock next year? I probably will, just to see the differences between Takara's and Hasbro's...

Oh yeah, anyone heard anything new about a release date for MP Skywarp?

Edited by Excillon
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Bah. I hate Walmart exclusives. There an absolute nightmare to locate. <_<

(by conventional methods, anyway)

Hell yeah. I remember finding 20th prime on clearance for 25 bucks, but Starscream was a pain in the ass to find. Go figure.

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Really? I got two of them in one shot.

Then your lucky. I had to go to like 6 different ones, and ended up finding one, the only one left in Lake Geneva, WI. over an hour from my house. Got lucky with it, I stopped in for a soda and some windshield fluid and figured I'd check. And the one I got's box was a bit beat up as well.

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Never saw MP starscream at retail, either, though saw several Primes. Ended up getting my Takara/US version Starscream from Frank & Sons and picked up the coronation set at the same time.

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